Every car bound for Cape Tribulation stops at the same riverbank on Cape Tribulation Road and waits for one chain-hauled ferry. Douglas Shire Council owns that ferry and sets its fares; since 1 July 2026 a company called Birdon runs it, and the same firm is building the bigger boat meant to replace it in late 2027.
Operating hours from the Birdon ferry information page, home page and FAQ, read on 15 October 2026; latest status post dated 7 July 2026 Daintree Ferry (Birdon) – Ferry information · 2026-10-15
How do you drive from Port Douglas to Cape Tribulation? Only one way: about 50 km north of Port Douglas, Cape Tribulation Road runs into the Daintree River and stops, and the council's own description of the ferry is that it is the only road crossing of that river. Everyone heading for the rainforest coast, from residents and school buses to freight and hire cars, rolls onto the same deck.
The deck belongs to a cable ferry. A 38 mm steel chain is fixed to each bank and a hydraulic winch on board hauls the 43-metre vessel along it; the operator replaces the chain every 12 months and counts it among just three cable ferries in Queensland. About 27 standard vehicles fit on each trip, and the ride takes about 15 minutes once loading and unloading are counted.
Who runs it changed this year. Douglas Shire Council bought the vessel in 2021, and on 1 July 2026 Birdon took over day-to-day operation from Entrada under a 20-year contract that also covers designing, building and maintaining the new four-lane ferry due in late 2027. Hours and ticket sales ran on without a break on handover day, which was also the day the council's new 2026/27 fares took effect.
Council fixes the fares once a year, on 1 July, and every ticket expires at the end of that fee year on 30 June. That has two practical effects. A return does not have to be used the same day, so you can cross on Monday and come back on Friday on one ticket. But a ticket bought before 1 July stops being valid on that date unless you pay the difference, and anyone crossing north on 30 June and returning later should buy two singles rather than a return.
Council's schedule and Birdon's price card show identical 2026/27 figures, GST included.
| Car or ute, one way | $ 35 |
| Car or ute, return | $ 57 |
| Motorbike, one way | $ 15 |
| Motorbike, return | $ 22 |
| Trailer or caravan (added to a vehicle ticket), one way | $ 15 |
| Trailer or caravan (added to a vehicle ticket), return | $ 21 |
| Multi-day pass, five return car or ute trips | $ 143 |
| Pedestrian or cyclist, one way | $ 7 |
| Pedestrian or cyclist, return | $ 8 |
| Machinery rate (all commercial vehicles), one way | $ 21 |
| Machinery rate (all commercial vehicles), return | $ 36 |
| Bus 6–10 seats, one way | $ 35 |
| Bus 6–10 seats, return | $ 57 |
| Bus 11–20 seats, one way | $ 50 |
| Bus 11–20 seats, return | $ 92 |
| Bus 21+ seats, one way | $ 87 |
| Bus 21+ seats, return | $ 160 |
| School bus, one way | $ 19 |
| School bus, return | $ 31 |
| Concession card, Douglas Shire residents and ratepayers | $ 29 |
| Concession card, Wujal Wujal and eligible Cook Shire residents | $ 66 |
| Visitor ticket book (55 tickets), card holders living north of the river | $ 29 |
Douglas Shire Council fees and charges 2026/27, in force from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027; read on 15 October 2026 in the council schedule and on the operator's price card Douglas Shire Council – Daintree Ferry fees 2026/27 (PDF) · 2026-10-15
The Daintree has never had a road bridge, and the council asked the question again before committing to the current upgrade. Of 3,409 survey responses, 66 per cent preferred a better ferry and 33 per cent a bridge, so the ferry stayed. Two projects followed. On land, new approach lanes, culverts and relocated ticket booths were being built through 2026; the council's timetable has the contractor demobilising from mid-October 2026 and river works resuming in mid-2027. On the water, Birdon is building a four-lane, cable-drawn replacement at its Port Macquarie yard in New South Wales, about 49 metres long and 17 metres wide, for up to 36 vehicles a crossing against roughly 27 today. On 2 October 2026 the council reported the first hull block in the paint shed.
Swapping boats will close the vehicle crossing for at least 10 days, planned for late 2027. During that gap the council has promised a free pedestrian ferry in daylight and shuttle buses from car parks on both banks. Queensland's other cable crossings on this site run on a smaller scale: the Moggill ferry carries cars across the Brisbane River on the city's western edge, and Noosa North Shore uses two cable ferries for beach-bound four-wheel drives.
Turn off the Mossman Daintree Road at the signs near the Crossroads Café and follow Cape Tribulation Road for 3.8 km. About 400 m short of the river the bitumen splits: keep left for the ticket booth, because the right-hand lane is reserved in busy months for Douglas Card and concession holders, tour coaches and emergency vehicles. Toilets sit in the sealed car park used by the river-cruise operators, roughly 500 m back from the ramp, and there are more on the right just before boarding. During the 2026 landside works the approach has carried temporary single-lane traffic control, so allow for a slower final kilometre.
Heading south there is no booth to stop at: drive to the end of the road, join the queue and pay the deckhand once you are aboard. A public toilet block sits in the car park just before the ramp. The council's upgrade plans add priority lanes and a bus pick-up zone on this side, but the ramps themselves stay where they are now.
From 9am to 4.30pm in busy periods, visitors stay in the regular lane past the booth. The other lane belongs to card-holding locals, tour coaches and emergency vehicles.
The ferry stops in extreme weather and flood, and flooded roads cut access anyway. After Cyclone Jasper in January 2024 about 4,300 cubic metres of silt had to be cleared while a restricted 6am to 6pm service ran.
Large vehicles, heavy equipment and loads of gas or fuel may need special loading instructions. Birdon asks drivers to email its feedback address before arriving.
Residents of nine far-north council areas, including Cairns, the Tablelands and Cassowary Coast, can apply to Douglas Shire Council for a free Douglas Card, which makes private cars, motorbikes, bikes and walkers free from 1 November to the end of February.
The 2021 purchase was not cheap. In an open letter that May, the then mayor wrote that council paid $4.5 million for the ferry, well above an independent valuation of about $800,000, after months of failed talks with the previous private owner, because losing the service would have hurt the tourism businesses north of the river. The same letter put traffic at about 100,000 vehicles a year. Council also points out that Queensland law does not let it profit from the tolls: ticket revenue has to go back into running and improving the crossing.
Breakdowns are rare but memorable: in July 2024 the drive-wheel chain failed at about 10pm and the crossing stayed shut until around 1pm the next day. With the new ferry, council expects a two-week haul-out for a mandatory AMSA survey about every five years.
No. Douglas Shire Council describes the ferry as the only road crossing of the river. When it surveyed residents, 66 per cent of 3,409 responses backed an improved ferry over a bridge, and that is what is being built.
The car or ute return is $57 and the caravan, charged at the trailer rate and sold with the vehicle ticket, adds $21 return, so $78 in total. A campervan on its own pays the car rate.
Yes. Returns are valid until 30 June of the fee year in which you bought them, not just for the day. The one trap is crossing on 30 June and returning on 1 July or later: buy two one-way tickets instead.
It shuttles continuously from 5am to midnight every day, Christmas Day included. Between midnight and 5am the crew only responds to emergency services.
Birdon, an Australian maritime engineering company, has operated it on behalf of Douglas Shire Council since 1 July 2026. Council still owns the ferry and sets the fares.
The council and Birdon expect it in service in late 2027. Installing new ramps and commissioning the vessel needs a closure of at least 10 days, with a free daylight pedestrian ferry and shuttle buses promised for that period.
No. Between 9am and 4.30pm in the busy season it is kept for Douglas Card and concession card holders, tour coaches and emergency vehicles. An online ticket does not give access to it.